Choose the Right Jackets to Dress Your Body

1.Great on Busty Figures

Perfect: single-breasted with not-too-wide lapels and no pockets on the boobs, please. "I thought cute jackets were for the Itty-Bitty-Titty Committee, but I was picking the wrong cuts," says Rashidah Bernay, 25.

A Basic Cut Dockers, sizes XS-L
A Pretty Neckline WD.NY, sizes 4-14
Curve-Loving H&M, sizes 2-12

2.Great on Plus-Size Bodies

Ultimate flatterer: hip-length and fitted, but not pulling across the bust. Avoid cropped or too-large styles; they square your shape. “I didn’t think I could feel so sexy in a jacket,” says Lindsey Garbelman, 24.

A Classic Talbots, sizes 2-20
Subtle Checks Liz Claiborne New York, sizes 4-16
A Sleek Shape Torrid, sizes 12-26

3.Great on Petite Shapes

Your winner: close-fitting—not loose—jackets that fall at or above the hip. Anything oversize will overwhelm your frame. “At last—a jacket I’m not drowning in,” says Marianne Santos, 34. “I feel six feet tall.”

Not-Bold Pattern Jones New York Collection, sizes 4-16
A Nice Length AK Anne Klein, sizes 4-16
Close to the Body Banana Republic, XS-L, Petite XS-L

Korea Fashion Show Landed at New York

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, Korea’s top fashion designers presented a selection of looks from their 2010 collections at a special runway show in New York, kicking off a two-day preview event for local buyers.

In order to making their debut in the U.S. retail market, the designers are all members of the Korean Federation of Design Association, who organized the event in conjunction with the Korea International Trade Association and Korea Women Entrepreneurs Associations.

Collections ranged from contemporary daywear like Cubellia, with smart mod cashmere A-line coats and cheery ruffled blouses – “My style is feminine, elegant, practical and wearable,” said designer Soo Hyun Choi, who uses a lot of stretchable fabrics for added comfort – to couture, like Lilycomes Paris by Jeone Mi Young, who showed a series of dresses with feather-covered bodices and over-the-top ruffles, which were not for the faint of heart.

Other designers, like Lee Young Hee Presents and ANS An Yoon Jung focused on flirty cocktail dresses?sequined, in the case of Lee Young Hee and with flouncy, flared skirts from An Yoon Jung.

For a more bohemian sensibility, Ecole de Paris offered a romantic pairing of high collared ruffled blouses paired with structured military jackets, while Yan’s by HEEDEUK focused on texture, like a fuzzy Mongolian lamb fur vest paired with silk genie-style trousers.

Hot topic: First lady’s fashion sense dazzles

WASHINGTON - Michelle Obama has dazzled the world with her graceful sense of style yet again.

The first lady chose to wear a gleaming silver-sequined, cream-colored gown Tuesday night to the first state dinner held by her husband's administration. She was tending to her hostess duties in a strapless silhouette with the beads forming an abstract floral pattern that was custom-made by Naeem Khan.

She wore a matching wrap, a stack of bangle bracelets on her wrist and dangling earrings. The guests of honor at the dinner were Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, making Mrs. Obama's choice of the Indian-born, U.S.-based designer seem very appropriate.

At the event, traditional evening gowns and vibrantly colored saris mixed with banded-collar dinner jackets and tuxedos. There also were turbans and bindis and diamonds aplenty, as several hundred guests put on the glitz. Outshining them all was the first lady in her cream and gold silk chiffon gown. Khan, the Indian-born designer of Mrs. Obama's handmade gown, told CNN's "Larry King Live" that it took three weeks to complete the dress at his family's workshop in India — with 40 people working on it.

His goals, he said, were to dress the first lady in something "Indian, chic, simple but very glamorous."

Careful wardrobe choices

Earlier on Tuesday for a preview of the state dinner, Mrs. Obama wore a skirt by Rachel Roy, also an Indian-American. "That gave us a preview that she was going to use clothes to convey a meaning," said Mary Tomer, author of the new book "Mrs. O: The Face of Fashion Democracy."

"They were really thoughtful choices," she said.

"The nice thing about it is the Jackie Kennedy sort of appropriateness. Most people wouldn't know one way or another about Naeem's background, but if one sentence gets mentioned to the prime minister, then her subtleness would pay off," added Hal Rubenstein, fashion director for InStyle magazine.

Rubenstein said he was impressed that Mrs. Obama used her fashion knowledge to choose a sophisticated and regal style that paid homage to India without wearing a traditional sari-style dress, which could have come off as a costume next to India's first lady.

"I think she looks fabulous," Tomer said on Tuesday night. "She walked out in something that's figure-flattering and chic. Naeem's work is known for glamour and embellishment and this dress seems to embody that. She's sparkling and radiant."

Designer Khan is no stranger to helping women make a grand entrance; he has become a fixture on the Hollywood red-carpet circuit, dressing Beyonce, Carrie Underwood, Katherine Heigl and even Queen Noor of Jordan. Of Mrs. Obama, Rubenstein said: "She looks like she's worth her weight in solid gold. What I love about her is that it's a pleasure to watch a woman of size and stature not apologize for her height and know how to stand tall."

President Barack Obama also drew Rubenstein's praise in his classic-style tuxedo. "I often feel Obama's suits are too big on him, but I think he got a new tux."

Focus on issues that matter to first ladyHours before guests were to start arriving on Tuesday evening and in keeping with tradition, Mrs. Obama previewed the glamorous table settings in the State Dining Room. At that event, the first lady wore the skirt by Roy — her second wardrobe change of the day, to be followed still by the gown she was wearing to dinner.